Secondary Menu

How to Build a Magic the Gathering Deck

Many new Magic the Gathering players just buy the starter decks and think that they are good. Are you one of those people? Good. Because this is all about how to build your own deck, and make it the best it can be. Are you one of those people who just doesn't know how to build a deck? Amazing! Then this is the instructable for you.

Step 1: Key Cards

The first thing that you want to do when you are making your magic the gathering deck is to find all of the cards that you really want to have in your deck. I would try to keep your deck to as little colors as possible, maybe even a single color so that you can get the right kind of mana. Here are some of my key cards: Nightmare, Ob Nixilis Reignited, Chittering Host (the merged form of graf rats and midnight scavengers), From Under the Floorboards, Noosegraf Mob, and Liliana, Defiant Necromancer (The transformed version of Liliana Heretical Healer).

Step 2: Mana

So, now that you know which cards that you really have to have, you need to work on mana. You need mana to survive the game, let alone win it, so it is essential to have the right type of mana. If your cards are all the same color, then grab 24 or 25 of that land type. If it is a double colored deck, then get 12 of one kind and 12 of the other. There is another way to do it. You can have lands that give you both types of mana, and have 10 of one kind, 10 of the other, and 4-5 of the type of land that gives you both. Any way that you do it, just make sure that you have 24, 25, or 26 total lands.

Step 3: Combos

Now you need to think about what cards go well with others. The two cards pictured above work together to create a much better card. That is what you need to look for. Cards that will work to the same effect as other cards. Cards that just work well together because one makes the other better. Cards that both make each other better! The possibilities are endless, and the amount of combos that you can get are endless as well. Don't believe me? Just look up "Mtg combos", and you'll know what I'm talking about. These are my combos, Unhallowed Pact and Nightmare, Gonti's Machinations Indulgent Tormentor and Ob Nixilis Reignited, and Midnight Scavengers with Graf Rats.

Step 4: Fillers

This is a step where you take some more good cards, not necessarily key cards, but still good cards, and put them in your deck. These cards don't have to be amazing, but just as long as you think that you can still win with those cards and not your key cards. You will need around 60 cards, no less but you can have more. I would suggest staying within 60 and 65 for the best amount. The reason for this is that you need your good cards to circulate through the deck so that you can draw them off the top of your library and play them. If you have too many cards, then you will not get those cards to the top and you might lose the game. Some of my fillers are: Night Market Lookout, Farbog Revenant, Cadaver Imp, Fetid Imp, Gifted Aetherborn, Ghoulsteed, Sanitarium Skeleton, and Blistergrub.

Step 5: Mana Curve Pt 1

This is possibly the hardest step. You will have to make sure that your cards aren't too expensive in mana cost. For example, an instant that gives a creature +3+3 for 5 total mana? That's not worth it. A good deal with be equal or less than what it's giving you. For example, a card that gives a creature +3+3 for 3 total mana? That's a good deal. Even better, a card that gives a creature +3+3 for 2 total mana! Just make sure that you look carefully at the mana cost and try to make the majority of the cards cost 0-4 mana. A good deal would be a card like Prying Questions. A bad deal example would be Night Market Aeronaught.

Step 6: Mana Curve Pt 2

What I do for this step is separate the cards into piles according to their mana cost. Then, I lay out the cards in a mana cost pyramid with the most expensive cards at the top and the least expensive cards at the bottom. Mana doesn't count, and I wouldn't put that in the pyramid. You want the cards to be in a triangular shape or at least close to a triangle, so take out the more expensive cards and replace them with the less expensive cards. Be careful that you aren't too worried about the mana cost that you take out really good cards, so just take out the expensive cards that are not as good as the others that are it's cost and it isn't too good. Then, just make sure that you have 60-65 cards in your deck, and you should be good!

Step 7: Play Test Your Deck

Now, the only thing to do now is to play against other people with your new deck! Improve your deck with the cards that you gain, and be looking out for cards that you think would fit in your deck. You're done! All you have to do now is play and improve your deck.

Step 8: DONE

Now you are done. I hope that you were able to understand what you needed to do and built yourselves some awesome decks. I hope this helped you guys, and if you guys have any cards that you guys love, comment in the chat section and I will reply to you guys. Hope you enjoyed,